The Color of Noise

Scientists discovered that there are “colors of noise” in our world. They are separated by their spectral density over different frequencies of sound. (http://www.wired.co.uk/article/colours-of-noise)

It starts with White noise, which has equal amount of energy in all frequency bands. Then it proceeds through the spectrum of colors to Black noise, which refers to silence with occasional spikes of sound.

Every band of White noise has equal energy per cycle and is completely flat. It is synonymous with white light. It has the ability to cut through the background noises and promote sleep; yet it can also produce percussive noises such as cymbals and drums.

Black noise is White noise that is silent, and can be defined as pure silence or negative noise.

Green noise is mid-point of the White-Black noise spectrum. It is the background noises in the world in which we live. It is averaged over a long length of time in several outdoor sites around our world.

Pink noise has equal bands that get proportionately wider. It is the same as our human hearing and has the same energy as the octave above and below it. It is useful in testing amplifiers and loudspeakers, radiation output and DNA sequences.

Red/Brown noise (Brownian noise) sounds like a low roar and is used in climatology to describe regime shifts.

Blue noise is at the other end of the spectrum from Brownian noise. Our retinal cells are arranged in Blue noise patterns and they provide good visual resolution. Violet noise increases per octave over the frequency range and can mask high frequencies, which helps many tinnitus sufferers.

Grey noise helps when noise occurs in both high and low frequencies, but very little in the range of normal human hearing. It is useful in studying hearing difficulties and differences from the normal range of human hearing.

Orange noise has a few bands eliminated entirely and reveals sound that is off key and out of tune, because it is not exact musical notes.

In a world where even light makes noise, we are called upon to adjust our “headphones” to hear only the voice of God. We block out all of the fleshly, worldly and satanic static in the chaos of life swirling all around us.

We rise above the dissonance of our concerns and we enter a new realm of the peace and joy, being led only by the Spirit of God. The full power of Christ's divine nature infuses the body, soul and spirit of each authentic Believer (John 8:12).

 

Prayer:

Father God, awaken our sleepy soul and raise us from spiritual apathy and death. Remind us that Christ lives as a light within us, showing us the way You would have us to walk in this world. Help us to pay attention to how we live, so that we use Your wisdom in all that we say and do.

Remind us to make the most of the time You give us and not to foolishly use it for our own selfish gains. Teach us to block out all the "colors of noise" bombarding us, and how to give You our direct attention through each moment of our life.

Thought for the Day:

Let us live life in full awareness of the immense potential available to us though our union with Christ; every negative circumstance, which life throws at us, can be overcome by faith in God through Christ within us.

End to the Beginning

Whenever I read a book, I always read the last chapter first. That way I eliminate the mystery, suspense and unpredictability of the story line. Then, I can read from the beginning, without the stress of not knowing how it will turn out.

Some of you may enjoy horror movies and suspenseful mysteries, but they cause my psyche too much anxiety. I love to watch Hallmark movies, because as my husband derisively points out, the endings are predictable. There is very little stress and suspense in these wondrously sappy romances.

I did this with the Bible too. I read Revelation first. This colorful depiction of symbolic drama gives us a bird's eye view of the culmination of time as we know it.

Revelation confirms the prophetic books of the Bible, such as Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah - as well as the New Testament letters such as the gospels and Thessalonians. They report to us God's intention for creation, redemption and restoration.

When we know how the end plays out, these facts remove the guesswork from life and give us a fool proof game plan to follow in our walk of faith through the Son of God.

God made His will plain and stress-free for us through the Biblical account of His clear timetable of events leading up to His final return to earth and His eternal plans for humanity.

God does not dwell in time. The 6,000 years since creation are all in the present to Him. He is not restrained, directed or controlled by the hands on the clock like we are (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8).

Our Creator and King dwells in eternity. He invites us to join Him in this place of unhindered existence through salvation in His Son. Jesus won this privilege for us by taking on the form of a man and dying in our place (Philippians 2:6-8).

God also provided us with His Word in order to afford us hope for a joyful future and instructions for living in a peaceful existence through every moment of each new day regardless of our circumstances (Jeremiah 29:11).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your Word, which takes the guesswork right out of life. Remind us to check with You before we do anything, so that You can direct our plans (Proverbs 3:5-6). When Satan attempts to hinder us, teach us to use spiritual warfare through the power of Christ in us to withstand his onslaughts.

Thank You for always answering our prayers, and for not always giving us what we want, but what is in our best interest. We squirm under the pressures of life and often feel like we know how to alleviate these trials; but we often jump out of the frying pan into the fire. Keep us in the center of Your will and walking in the fruit of Your righteousness.

Thought for the Day:

Our Father is God and there is no one like Him; He declared the end to the beginning. - Isaiah 4:9-11

Living in Praise

Did you ever notice that Paul was the eternal optimist? The man worked hard, almost died several times, was stoned, shipwrecked and in the sea a day and night, constantly in danger, sleepless, hungry and thirsty, and exposed to both hot and cold elements (2 Corinthians 11:22-28).

Yet, he told us to rejoice always; to pray without ceasing; not to quench the Spirit; and to give thanks in everything: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19).

Does this mean to give thanks, because everything that happens to us is God's will for us; or that giving thanks is God's will for us? Either way, it is worth paying attention to this verse.

If giving thanks is God's will, then when we praise the Lord, we are in God's will; and when we do not praise the Lord, we are out of God's will for us.

If Paul is saying that we should give thanks in good times and in adversity, because all of these circumstances are the will God for us, then when we do not praise Him, we are missing out on part of the miracle, which God has for us through this trial.

Recently, our air-conditioning was out for two days during the hottest November on record in southwest Florida. I was dripping sweat, irritable and claustrophobic - because the heat imprisoned me and I could not escape it.

This caused me to remember my childhood and first pregnancy; when we had no air-conditioning at all, because of our lack of income. My mom used a wet wash cloth on her neck, so I did too. It helped this time too.

As I prayed during this inconvenience, God brought Paul's exhortation to my mind. I realized that I was not to grumble or to allow my flesh to get the better of me; and I was to walk in the Spirit and praise God, even in the suffocating heat.

Easier said than done; but I have been learning to live through my spirit and not my flesh and this was just another opportunity to practice. I truly was thankful that the circumstances were not even more dreadful.

Prayer:

Father God, I really wanted Your permission during this trial to be grouchy and to feel sorry for myself. I wanted to complain and gain sympathy from family and friends. However, I knew this would only make others miserable too, and I would not grow in my spirit with negative behavior or remain in Your will without praising.

I know that You were building character in me and preparing me for future events in my life; therefore, I chose to change my focus and to praise You with each drop of perspiration. I was even able to thank You that it cools down in southwest Florida on November evenings, and that I still had electricity and could run the fans. Thank You for living through this trial with me.

Thought for the Day:

Regardless of the circumstances, we learn to do all things without grumbling and complaining (Philippians 2:12-16), and to walk in the Spirit each moment of the day (Galatians 5:15-25).

Many thanks to Matt Milligan for the use of his photo.